The Knight: chapter 6

6. Stories

I didn’t sleep well at all that night. I had strange dreams about Christopher and his sore arm. Something about the whole situation bothered me but I couldn’t tell what it was. I reckoned all of them feelings would go away as soon as I got to spend some time with Chris and get to know him better.

I woke up early the following morning, way too early for my parents to be up, and decided to go and see the young man all on my own - this time without asking anyone for permission. I was sure I’d get a no if I asked, and besides, they were all still asleep.

Perhaps Christopher could read to me, I thought to myself. I knew I couldn’t play with him properly because of his illness, but we could read.

I went up and walked over to my bookshelf. I didn’t have a lot of books to choose from, but I had some that I liked. I took three of them with me and sneaked out of my bedroom and off to Chris’s room.

I was lucky enough to find the door both unlocked and ajar this time.

“Hello?” I mumbled shyly and went in.

The young man was lying in his bed, as always, but he was awake this time.

“Hey,” he answered me, with a voice no stronger than a whisper.

I looked at him for a little while before I went over to his bedside. He looked tired in a way but he didn’t seem to mind me being there. As a matter of fact, I think he very much liked my company.

“Can’t you sleep either?” I wondered and sat myself down on the knight’s bed.

He shook his head slowly before replying:

“I have barely slept at all.”

I felt kind of sorry for him even though I was in a similar situation when it came to insomnia. I looked at the three books I’d chosen and carefully removed two of them.

”Can you read to me, Christopher?” I asked.

Christopher struggled to sit up, trying not to support himself on the hurt arm. He must’ve been in pain still, but he never mentioned it. The only reason to why I knew it hurt him was because of the faces he made. He silently took the book I was handing him, whereupon he browsed a few pages. I was satisfied with my choice. I had chosen a book with just a little text and many nice pictures.

“Read!” I encouraged him cheerfully and crawled closer. ”Please?”

He nodded:

”Once upon a time there was a knight…”

I smiled. Christopher wasn’t reading very well. He had difficulties pronouncing all the words properly and he really struggled in order to get them right. The knight also had an unusual accent but it didn’t matter so much that I barely understood the words he mumbled. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that made him so unfocused, but I was happy anyway. He had his arm around me as I was sitting very close to him while he was reading me the book. It was nice.

I yawned, as the tiredness had come creeping up on me, but I kept smiling still. It was great to sit together with the knight. Finally I got to spend some time with him.

However the happiness didn’t last very long. Mom was awake and looking for me. If I’d only heard her cry out for me a little sooner I would’ve hid somewhere. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be in Christopher’s room.

“Mike, are you in here?” mom whispered before she opened the door.

Chris immediately went quiet and shut the book straight away. He slipped it discretely onto my lap and waited for what would happen with mom in the room.

“There you are!” she said. She sounded relieved in a way, as if I’d gone far and was nowhere to be seen until now.

“Sorry,” I said “I couldn’t sleep.”

Mom looked at me. She was newly awoken and not yet dressed properly. She wore her green robe and slippers. Her hair wasn’t even combed yet, but still put up in an untidy hairdo. She looked at the both of us, not really knowing what to say.

“Have you forgotten what day it is today, Mike?” she asked.

“Sunday?”

I was confused. What was so special with today?

“It’s the first of December”, mom continued. “And you know what that means, don’t you?”

I needn’t think long to realise what she was getting at.

“Christmas decorations!” I burst out, happily remembering last year’s glittery ornaments.

“Exactly,” mom beamed and took my hand. “Let’s have some breakfast and then we’ll start.” She then turned to Christopher who had gone really quiet. “I’ll make sure you get something to eat as well, just stay here. Okay?”
Chris looked at her grimly.

“Thanks.”

After locking the door behind us, mom brought me to the kitchen.

“You locked the door, mom,” I pointed out as we were reaching the stairs.

“Yes.”
“But that means Christopher can’t get out.”

“It’s what has to be done, sweetheart,” she said. “It was supposed to be locked during the night also. The boy is sleepwalking and we need to protect him. He was on his way outdoors the other night, he could’ve frozen to death if it wasn’t for your dad stopping him.”

I went silent. I had no idea Christopher was sleepwalking. Normally I would’ve bothered her with even more questions about it but I was hungry and suddenly quite tired.

Dad and Oscar were already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Mom’s brother looked at us with a grin on his face:

“I think I can guess where you found him,” Oscar commented, seemingly amused by the whole situation.

I felt a bit ashamed. I knew I had done something I wasn’t really allowed to do.

“He just read me a book,” I said defensively while I sat down and started eating big spoonfuls of cereal. “Reading won’t make him sicker.”

Dad put some sliced bread on the table and looked at me with his green eyes.

“First of December, eh?” he said calmly, thereby changing the subject. “How about putting some lamps up in the garden this afternoon?”
“Great!” I said with a huge smile. I really like hanging out with my father, especially when it comes to putting up lamps or doing something practical. He’s a carpenter, so I like it extra. If I hadn’t my mind set on being a fireman I’d be a carpenter for sure.

“Why don’t you help mom with some indoors decorations first, while I go and get some new lamps?” he continued and I responded eagerly that sounded great.

So after breakfast I did exactly what dad told me. Mom and I went pottering in the downstairs living room. There were many boxes with Christmas stuff to open but I quickly decided to get the glitter and the stable out.

“I don’t think Christopher is from here, mom,” I said while trying my best to assemble the crib ornament in the living room. Jesus kept falling out of his bed and one of the kings had gone missing.

Mom suddenly stopped putting the red curtains with snowflake print on the curtain rod and stared at me.

“Why do you think that?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders:

“He has a funny way of talking.”
She continued fixing the curtain with a soft smile playing on her lips.

“You know what, Mike?” she said. “You’re right. Christopher isn’t from Chicago like you and me. He’s from Washington.”

“Oh,” I didn’t know what to say. He didn’t strike me as a Washington person. I was almost certain the accent I had heard was not a Washington one. On the other hand, he barely spoke at all.

“Have you been talking to him a lot?”
“Nah, not really. He’s terribly quiet.”

My mother seemed to be content with the answer I gave. It didn’t please me as much, though, and I continued forcing Jesus back in the crib. In all honesty, I was sulking a bit while doing so. All I really wanted was for me and Chris to be friends.

Mom looked at me. She could tell it bothered me that the young knight refused to speak.

“Honey,” she said with a gloomy smile. “Don’t take it out on Jesus… You know Christopher is ill. I’m sure he would love to talk to you and play with you if only he had been feeling better.”

I let go of the little wooden doll and started searching for the missing king in one of the boxes next to me instead. She was right.

Dad and I spent the afternoon putting up lamps in the garden. Oscar helped as well. It was great fun. I always enjoy spending time with them, doing things. In the past Oscar would come visit maybe once per two months and not stay very long. This time was different and I was glad it was.

The Knight: chapter 5

5. Secrets

It was rather late when we got back. Half past eight or so. The house was all quiet and dark.

We hung our coats and mom went to the kitchen straight away. She had the food that granny gave us with her, and started to heat it up in the microwave. My grandmother always manages to cook too much food, and every time we’re there she insists on us bringing some home.

A lovely smell of chicken and potatoes filled our kitchen.

“Are you hungry, mom?” I asked as I went to stand beside her. I knew I was still feeling very stuffed from dinner and all the biscuits I had gulped down during the day.

Mom laughed softly when she heard my question.

“Of course not,” she said. “Christopher might be, though.”

“Ah, it’s for Chris.”

She answered me yes and then squeezed my arm in that loving way only moms and dads can do.

She put the plate and a glass of water on a tray and went upstairs with it. I did my very best to keep up with her, but it didn’t seem like she wanted me to come with her.

“Wait, mom!” I complained.

She didn’t listen to me, but I increased my steps and got to his door at the same time she did.

Christopher was awake for once. He sat on his bed with his legs close up to his body and his arms wrapped around them, like he was hugging his knees. He wore a grey t-shirt so I could see his arms. He had very fair skin. I suddenly remembered the pain he had in one of the arms this morning and as soon as I remembered that I could tell why. His left arm was very red and bruised. It even looked painful.

“Mike, you shouldn’t be in here now,” mom said and immediately woke me up from the thoughts about the knight’s sore arm.

“But I want to stay.” I insisted and tried to make eye contact with Chris.

The young man hadn’t said a word. He was just sitting there, clinging on to his legs and looking at us silently.

Oscar came in to the room.

“You heard your mother, Mike,” he said. “It’s bedtime anyway.”

He was right. I hate when adults are right, because they’re always right somehow.

“Alright,” I mumbled grumpily.

I went out and let Oscar close the door behind me. I meant to get back in there eventually, but it was no use as I heard the door click when I left. That could only mean one thing; it meant that he’d locked the door.

I sulked a bit. It was hard for me to understand why I couldn’t be there when Christopher was eating. Of course I knew he was sick, but it was just food.

I went to the bathroom and started to brush my teeth. Dad entered the room as well. He usually helps me to brush my teeth thoroughly. Despite my grumpy mood I was starting to enjoy myself in the bathroom. I have a rubber duck in the bath tub and every now and then I let him swim in the sink as well. Today was one of those days.

I held the yellow duck underneath the surface for a little while and laughed when it made tiny bubbles.

Dad laughed too, mostly because I was laughing, I think. I was just about to dry Tony the duck with a pink towel when I heard a noise coming from Christopher’s room.

It wasn’t a loud noise. It was actually very hard to hear it at all, but I heard it. It was a muffled shout followed by some quiet sobs.

I think dad heard it too.

“Let’s go to bed now, Mike,” he said and made me let go of Tony.

It was a weird situation. Dad got very nervous after hearing the sound and insisted that I’d go to sleep. He held my hand and led me to my room.

“Is Christopher sad?” I asked him on the way to my room.

“What makes you ask that?” he wondered without taking any notice of my will to go and see what was going on with Christopher.

“I heard him…”

“Mike,” said dad harshly before I got the opportunity to finish the sentence. I knew at once it was no idea to argue any further. “It’s bedtime now. Put on your pyjamas.”

I did just as I was told, but I refused to actually go to sleep until mom came in to kiss me goodnight. It took her a few more minutes than it took me to get dressed and ready for bed. I was waiting for her with dad by my side when she came in to my room.

She smiled when she saw me ready and waiting:

“Ready that quick today, eh?”

“Yes, mom,” I said, but of course I couldn’t stop myself just after saying that. I had to ask about Chris, especially since dad hadn’t told me anything at all. “Mom,” I said. “Is Christopher sad?”

“What?” mom didn’t seem to understand what I meant and I had to explain it to her:

“I heard him cry.”

“Oh… You did, did you?” she seemed a bit anxious and hesitated at first, not knowing what to say. She started to run out of excuses. “Mike,” she said at last “Do you remember this morning? When Chris had pain in his arm?”

I nodded and mom continued the story very carefully:
“The reason to why that was, is because his arm was hurt so bad it had gone slightly out of place… Nurses can fix that kind of thing, and that’s what I’ve just done to Christopher. I forced his arm back in place, so he’ll be able to use it again without the nasty pain.

She made a thoughtful pause before continuing: “So you’re right, Mike. He was crying a little, but he’s better now.”

I nodded again. I could understand why he was upset then – forcing an arm back in place sounded horrible.

“… Now, Michael, now you have to go to sleep,” mom said. “Okay?”

The Knight: chapter 4

4. Christopher who?

The next morning I was sad to see that Christopher didn’t attend breakfast with the rest of us, but as soon as mom told me we were going to visit grandma and grandpa I didn’t mind whether the knight was there for breakfast or not. I hadn’t been at my grandparent’s for weeks and weeks.

They live rather close by; all you have to do is to get in the car and travel a little less than an hour or so. North, I think, but it might be east also... Or possibly west. To be honest I’m not sure what direction it is, but I’m sure it’s one or another.

Mom and I got ourselves ready to leave immediately after we had brushed our teeth. Dad and Oscar were coming as well, but they didn’t seem to care about how they looked when meeting the old ones. Mom put on a red dress and she made me wear a shirt and a knitted vest. I like to look proper. However I’m not very fond of that vest, but I know mom is so I usually don’t fuss about having to put it on.

“There’s my handsome boy,” she said and smiled softly when I was done. “Are you ready to go, then?”

“Yes,” I replied confidently. “But…”
Mom sighed, but at the same time she couldn’t stop smiling:

“But what?”

“I’d like to say bye to Chris before we leave.”

“Michael, dearest…”

“Please, mom.”

Mom thought about it for a second. She wasn’t sure it was such a good idea, but at the same time she knew how fond I was of the young man.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s do it quickly, then.”

She started to walk and I eagerly followed her to Christopher’s room. Strangely, that room never felt any special before he moved in there. It used to be just a room. But now I was feeling a bit nervous just to enter that very place. It was almost like entering somebody else’s property without permission.

Mom opened the door and we went in together. I kept just a few centimetres behind as I was walking as close to her as I could possibly get, shyly hiding behind her red skirting.

Finally I saw him. He was lying in bed, very still. I went up to him quietly and put my palm gently on his cheek.

“Good morning, Christopher,” I whispered.

His face was exceptionally warm. Slowly, slowly the young knight opened his eyes and looked at me. He had blue eyes. They were watery and he seemed a bit alarmed. Maybe I frightened him by waking him up.

“Sorry, I just wanted to say bye,” I explained. “We’re going to visit my grandparents, you see. But we’ll be back later.”

The knight was looking at me as if he was trying to wake up enough to be able to understand what I was telling him and why.

“Okay,” he then mumbled. “Bye.”

As I was getting up from his bedside, I accidentally touched his arm. It wasn’t on purpose ‘cause I didn’t even see his arm there. It was underneath the duvet. Christopher immediately groaned and tried to turn a little while a tear transfused from his right eye. I think he was in pain.

“Are you alright, Christopher?” I asked.

“His arm is sore,” mom answered rapidly before the young man got a chance to say anything at all. “It will be fine, but we have to leave now, Mike.”

“Okay. Bye, Chris. See you soon.”

“Bye.”

On the way out mom and I bumped in to Oscar as he was bringing the sick one some food.

“What have you been doing here?” he asked suspiciously.

“We were just saying goodbye,” mom said.

“I see.”

“Are you ready to leave as well?”

“Sure. I won’t be a minute. Christopher just has to have some food first,” uncle Oscar then looked at me and realized I was handsomely dressed up in a white shirt and a vest. Like a little gentleman, I was. “You look very smart today, Mike,” he said.

“Thank you.”

I smiled. It felt good to look smart and I knew without even looking at my mother that she had a proud smile on her face.

Not long after, we were all sitting in the car on the way to grandma and grandpa. I was occupied with a colouring book and didn’t really listen to the conversation my parents and uncle had. I was colouring a frog, making him deep blue and keeping busy with that. All I overheard was a few word of no special significance here and there. They didn’t even talk that much. There was some kind of tension going on in the car.

I could tell something was troubling dad, but it couldn’t be such a big issue as I heard mom and Oscar talk to him and easily managed to make him feel better. I think it was the fact that we’ve left poor Christopher all alone at home that bothered him.

I painted the frog’s t-shirt red and stopped listening to the others’ boring discussion. Apparently it would take us a little longer to get to granny than I first thought, but as soon as we got there granny and granddad met us at the door.

“Hi, Michael” granny cried cheerfully and hugged me very firmly. She usually does that and sometimes I’m actually afraid my eyes will pop out from all that squeezing, but I don’t think she realises how tight she’s hugging, she just gets so happy to see me.

After greeting and hugging them to say hello we all went to the living room where, of course, the adults started to talk. I don’t understand why grown-ups always want to talk all the time. It’s just so very boring. I stopped listening as per usual and silently played that the sofa we were sitting on was in fact a ship of which I was the captain. My grandparents were pirates on another sofa ship and dad was a sailor belonging to my crew.

Time went on surprisingly quickly. We’d had dinner and the adults had been talking a lot, even though that bored me silly I found my own things to do. They even gave me some blank papers and colouring pencils to keep me entertained. Generally I prefer colouring books, though, because then it’s already a nice picture in it that I get to colour. Sometimes I can’t come up with anything to draw when the pages are all blank, but today I knew. I made a painting of Christopher and a brown horse. It was a rather nice picture. I know I can’t always make them that nice.

“That’s a lovely drawing you’ve got there.” my grandmother said and woke me from my dreamy imagination as I coloured the horse properly. Without me knowing it, she’d been standing behind me for a little, looking at my artwork.

“Thanks.”

She looked at me curiously:
“Who’s the curly-haired boy?”

“It’s Christopher,” I replied. “And do you know, granny? Christopher is living with us now.”

She looked kindly at me, but there was still wonder in her eyes. She had no idea what I was talking about.

“He is, is he?” she said and I nodded proudly:

“And do you know what else, granny?”
”What?”

“He’s a knight,” I said, feeling very confident.

She smiled and showed me the big jar of cookies she had been holding slightly behind her back.

“That’s very nice indeed,” she said. “Have a biscuit, Michael.”

I looked into her eyes, thanked her and shyly took two of the cookies she offered me. They were my favourite ones.

I continued drawing while I nibbled on one of the biscuits and grandma went over to my mother. I saw that.

“Helen, sweetheart,” I heard her say to mom. “Who is Christopher?”

The Knight: chapter 3

3. Waiting

The sky was all grey when we arrived home. Mom said that it would probably start to rain any minute now. But that was alright with me. I like when it’s raining because no one forces you to play outside when it’s raining.

It was bright and snug at home. Oscar was sitting in the kitchen, newly shaved and showered, drinking whiskey. He used to do that on Friday evenings, but there was no sign of Christopher.

Mom and I hung our jackets on the coathanger in the hall and joined my uncle in the kitchen.

“Hello,” Oscar said. “How have you been today?”

“Busy as usual”, mom replied and started to bring out saucepans and frying pans from the cupboard in the kitchen.

“How about you, Mike?” my uncle said.

”Well…” I didn’t really know what to say. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was too timid to ask about my new brother, the knight.

Mom sighed a little, but then smiled.

“He’s wondering if he’s allowed to play with Chris,” she told calmly.

Oscar grinned:

“He's like twenty years old.”

“Be that as it may, being an only child isn't always easy. Michael would love to hang out with him for a while. Can't Christopher read to him or something?”

Twenty years old, I thought to myself, for a moment ignoring the rest of their conversation. That's for sure older than Eric's stupid siblings and that meant my brother had a higher status, because potentially he could beat them up.

Oscar silently looked away for a moment, as if he was trying to avoid the subject, but then looked straight back into her eyes.

“I’m not sure if that’s appropriate right now,” he replied grimly.

“What? Why’s that?”

“He’s not that easy to interact with at the moment. Give it an hour or two.”

Mom looked at the man with disapproval in her eyes. She wasn’t happy about the answer she had gotten. It was almost as if she knew something more.

“Right”, she said. “After dinner then, Michael.”

After dinner the children’s show was just about to begin so I went upstairs to the telly. That’s when I saw Christopher sprawled out on the sofa. I had almost forgotten I was meant to play with him. He was asleep and I curiously sneaked closer in order to get a proper look at him. The knight’s red hair was nice and fluffy. His face was calm and the cheeks carried a few freckles, he looked ever so peaceful. I gazed at him for another couple of minutes.

He was actually very tall, I thought to myself. Tall and noble, just like knights usually are. (But he was of course shorter than dad.) He wore jeans and a black sweater. It was one of them soft and casual sweaters, made of that same kind of fabric most sweaters are made of.

Christopher was sleeping on his back with his arms crossed over his chest. I reached out my hand and poked his elbow.

Christopher turned slumberous, without waking up.

He looked like a real knight indeed. I stared long and amazed at him before I decided to poke him a little again. Was he really real?

At the very moment I touched his face with my finger Christopher suddenly gasped in panic, whereupon he woke up with a twitch and opened his eyes.

“Sorry…” I mumbled shyly, it was obvious I had frightened him.

When the young man saw it was only me he smiled a little.

“It’s alright. I was just having a nightmare.”

He had done some hesitation before answering. I guess he got a bit surprised, ‘cause you never expect to be woken up by someone poking you in the face. I figured it was a very shy knight who’d slept on the sofa.

“My name is Michael” I said perkily and took his hand, just like I had seen some old and fancy people do.

Christopher got up a little and shook my hand:

“Nice to meet you.”

He pulled away his legs from the sofa and showed with his hand that I could have a seat next to him.

I smiled widely as I sat down on the soft cushions. He was nice.

I quickly reminded myself of why I was there in the first place and turned on the TV and started to watch. Even though it was my favourite program, it wasn’t half as fun as having Christopher sitting next to me. After every joke in the cartoon series I had to check if he was still sitting there. And every time he was.

After a couple of glances the knight started to understand what I was doing. He smiled and began to wait for the next time I’d look at him. I was so occupied looking at the show and the knight next to me that I barely noticed my parents also came in to the living room and sat themselves down in the other sofa.

I love cartoons. They’re my favourite programs and if I worked on the telly I’d decide that they’re only allowed to show them. No news and nothing with subtitles would be allowed, just funny programs for children. Christopher also seemed to enjoy the TV-show. At least he kept smiling.

We managed to watch one and a half episode together when I realised Christopher was getting a lot paler. Not only had the healthy colour of his face vanished, so had his smile. The boy was now shivering instead.

”Mom, Christopher isn’t feeling well,” I said slightly concerned about the his health.

Mom rose from the other sofa and went closer to the knight. She felt his forehead with her palm and examined him carefully.

“Yes, you’re right, Mike. Go and sit with dad so Chris can lie down for a while.”

I nodded and obeyed, even though I was worried.

“Come here, little guy,” dad said to me and I went away to sit next to him.

We looked at mom and Christopher in silence. She got the clinical thermometer from the bathroom to take his temperature. It was one of them you put in the ear. It took her less than half a minute to get the temperature.

”Almost forty,” she reported, mostly for dad’s sake who quietly nodded as to say he was listening.

”Is that a lot?” I asked.

”No, not at all,” mom assured me. “But he still has to have his medicine”

“I’ll go and get it” dad said. “Are you coming too, Mike?”

I nodded again. I wanted to get him his medicine as well.

Dad went downstairs to the medicine cabinet and let me pour a glass of water for the young man. We were very fast and it didn’t take us long at all to finish and get back upstairs.

”How is he, Helen?” dad asked mom, as soon as we came back.

“He’s okay. He’s slurring a bit though, and I don’t understand what he’s saying. Do you know where Oscar is?”

“No idea. He said something about a meeting. Don’t worry, he ought to be back soon.”

”Okay.”

Christopher took the medicine. His hands were shaking and he looked dozy. He didn’t say anything. He was too sick. I looked at him anxiously, from where I was sitting on the floor infront of him.

“It’s alright”, mom said to me, as she saw my worried face, yet still keeping very composed. “He’s just got a fever. It will pass,” she then turned to dad: “Martin, do you think you can help him to bed?”

“Sure. No problem.”

Dad lifted the sick one up from the sofa and carried him to his room. It wasn't far and it looked very easily done. Dad was really strong, probably because of all the heavy lifting he did as a builder. The young knight hung limp in his arms without moving or talking. It actually frightened me a little, but mom had said he was going to be alright and for that matter, he didn’t have such a high temperature either. Knowing that calmed me down a lot. He just needed to rest and he would be fine.

The Knight: chapter 2

2. An older brother for me?

The next day in kindergarten I played “castle and kingdom” with my friend Eric. It’s not a proper game of any sort we just pretend we’re kings and knights. Eric and I usually play together and it’s often nice, but this very day I was quite absent-minded. Knowing that I had a knight called Christopher living in my house made me unfocused on the game as I was dying to go home and get to know him better.
”Don’t you want to be a king, Mike?”
“No. Knights are much cooler,” I answered him, all while feeling very confident.
“But if you’re king you get to be on a stamp!” Eric persisted.
I had to stop and think for a bit. Stamps are nice, but it might hurt to get marked on the forehead by the post office all the time. I hesitated a little and Eric made a silly face. An ugly-looking silly face. He rolled his eyes and pushed the tip of his nose up. It looked like a pig’s snout.
“Don’t do that!” I complained fearfully – but Eric had no intention to stop. ”Your face can get stuck like that!” I burst out horrified.
“It can’t get stuck.”
“Yes, it can too!” I persisted “My mom says so and she’s a nurse!”
Eric went quiet and let go of the tip of his nose. He probably didn’t want to look that ghastly when he got older and I could well understand that. I was happy he had quit making ugly faces.
”Mike, your mother is here”, said Charlotte, the kindergarten teacher. I hadn’t even noticed when she came to the doorway and was therefore rather surprised that I’d already played an entire day with Eric. Time had gone by really quick.
Immediately I got very excited to hear that my mother was there to pick me up, especially since I knew Chris was home and to be honest I hadn’t really let go of the thought of playing with him all day.
”Mom!” I shouted cheerfully and ran to the hallway without even saying goodbye to Eric.
When I got there I threw myself around her neck. She was totally taken by surprise and laughed so that all her teeth showed and her green eyes glittered. My mother is pretty.
“Hi, Mike,” she said gently. ”Are you that happy to see me?”
“Yes”, I answered and started to struggle to get my shoes on, without her having to nag on me like she usually has to do since I really love kindergarten. Most of the time I’d like to play some more with my friends and with all the fun toys they have. But not today.
Mom looked at me baffled and reached for my bag on the shelf just above my jacket hook.
“Did I miss something, or are we in a hurry?” she wondered.
“No,” I answered lingeringly.
She smiled while adjusting her long dark brown hair. She started to understand why I was so eager to get home:
”Mike?”
“Yes…” I understood it was time for a confession. I could tell by the meaning tone of her voice. “I want to go home to Christopher,” I reported rather shyly. “Perhaps he is feeling better today and would like to play with me.”
”I see.”
Mom helped me to close the zipper on my dark green jacket and I couldn’t stop myself from asking a little more.
“Do you think he’s better today?”
She thought about it a few seconds before replying.
“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “We’ll have to ask Oscar as soon as we get back.”
I grabbed her hand and waved goodbye to the kindergarten ladies with the other hand. I was still cheerful, mainly because she hadn’t said that it was an impossibility to play with Christopher.
We walked off to our blue car in the parking lot. I like blue cars. When I grow up I’m going to have a blue one. Or maybe a yellow. But I’m not having a red car, ‘cause red is a girl’s colour.
I followed mom and glanced wistfully at the huge piles of colourful leafs that had formed along the edges of the parking area. Normally I would most likely have thrown myself in them and started to play. But not today. Today I just wanted to go home as soon as possible. It was very exciting to have a brother.
Of course Christopher wasn’t really my brother, I knew that. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know him yet but I was sure he was a nice boy and I had always wanted an older brother.

The Knight. Intro

1. An ill knight

I could’ve never even begun to imagine just how much my life was going to change as Christopher entered it.

I still remember when he sat there the very first time. It was almost Christmas. I know that, because Christmas is not long after my birthday the 28th of October, and my birthday had just passed. I turned five that year.

The young man sat in the kitchen with my father and uncle an hour or so after I came hom from kindergarten that day. He looked a little bit uneasy. Almost like I do when I’m about to go on a rollercoaster, but I get very happy and excited at the same time. Christopher wasn’t happy.

He was tall and handsome and he had red curly hair. It struck me straight away he looked just like a knight. I’m not sure if all the knights have red hair, though. Probably not. I’ve only ever seen two knights before in my life; one on TV and one toy knight at kindergarten. Neither of them had hair like his, but he looked very nice and noble and so I decided that red curly hair is very suitable for knights.

My uncle Oscar sat next to the young man and dad just across him. They all seemed slightly upset for some reason.

“Hi,” I said just to let them know I was there.

I had been trying to do some drawing in my room, but I thought I heard voices coming from downstairs and I just had to find out what was going on.

Dad turned around and looked at me standing in the kitchen doorway. He smiled a friendly smile but he didn’t answer.

“Hi, kiddie!” Oscar greeted me. He appeared to be the happiest one of the men sitting by the table.

“Who’s that?” I asked pointing at the knight. Had I not been so excited to see him I would’ve remembered it’s actually very rude to point at people.

Oscar went quiet for a little while.

“Well…” he began. “It’s… Christopher.”

The boy nodded silently to agree and then closed his eyes and made a face. He looked funny and I couldn’t help but laughing a little at him. Being the only child in the family had bored me for years, so I instantly thought of Christopher as a brother and found myself wishing I could play with him. He seemed very pleasant.

“Hey, Michael,” dad said, keeping very calm. “Oscar and Christopher are going to stay here for a while.”

I didn’t know what to say. I felt really happy to hear that but at the same time I suddenly felt very shy, so instead of saying anything I just nodded. I gazed at the three men for another bit.

”Why are they going to stay here?” I then asked.

“Christopher is very ill and Oscar is responsible for him, so we need you to take it easy around him,” dad said as if he could read my mind when it came to playing with the newcomer. “Do you understand that, Mike?”

I nodded again, even though it disappointed me a lot to hear that. Most of all I wanted to play with Christopher straight away, but if he was sick he had to rest. I knew that. Because when you’re sick you have to. And that’s just the way it is.

I didn’t see Christopher anymore that entire evening. Oscar brought him to the guest room upstairs and poor Christopher must’ve fallen asleep straight away.

Creativity

Despite being busy and quite stressed at the moment I'm really excited about a few creative things I've decided to do :)

First of all, I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year. I have high flying ideas on how I'd like to create my own Christmas traditions. Unfortunately I may have to stop with the Christmas hyenas, it will be very hard for future children to explain why we, in Casa de Chuckles, make Christmas hyena-ginger bread....
I'm also preparing a Christmas card list and planning where the Christmas tree will be and what sort of lamps and ornaments to have in it. It's marvellous altogether :)

I have also bought new sewing patterns. One skirt, one dress and one top. I intend to be really good at sewing, so I'm also looking for books to purchase on creating own patterns, alter already made patterns and style in general :)
Now I just need to find some fabric - and someone to cook and clean the house while I spend all my free time behind the sewing machine :)